Volume 9 Edition 3 2012 - The ASIA Miner

IndonesiaArchipelago seeks to boost Toka Tindung resourcesONLY 12 months after pouring first gold atthe Toka Tindung mine, Archipelago Resourcesis seeking new pr ospects and is continuingexploration at and ar ound the mine innorthern Sulawesi. After producing more than60,000 ounces in 2011, the company is keento increase annual Toka Tindung productionand make more efficient use of the crusher,which is running at about 60% capacity.With current resources and the curr entoperating schedule, Archipelago expects theproject to annually produce around 160,000ounces of gold equivalent for the next sixyears at a grade of at least 2.89 grams/tonne.The company’s chief executive officer MarcusEngelbrecht says with the potential to increasereserves and r esources annualproduction could probably be increased tobetween 200,000 and 250,000 ounces, andArchipelago will continue exploration in 2012to find as much minable ore as possible.Increasing output is one part of the overallstrategy for the future, but the CEO says themain aim is to achieve steady month-by-monthproduction. Since first gold last April, operationshave been ramped up smoothly and for thenine months up to December 31, the companyproduced more than 61,000 ounces of goldequivalent at a cash cost of US$579 per ounce.This year, the company hopes to pr oducebetween 135,000 and 145,000 ounces at acash cost of between US$540 and US$590per ounce. Ore is mined from three open pitsat Toka Tindung and Archipelago says it is alreadyachieving above plan gold r ecoveriesof 94%. Exploration is being pursued to expandthe asset base, along with the company’splan to examine opportunities to furthergrow in the region via mergers and acquisitions.With this in mind, it is looking at opportunitiesin South East Asia and Australasia.Marcus Engelbrecht says these will be assetsalready in production or near production.Last year Archipelago spent US$9 millionand added 900,000 ounces to the T okaTindung resource and 500,000 to the r e-serve. The company is confident it cancontinue in this vein, especially since TokaTindung has five open pits in its mine planfrom which it can exploit ore.The sky appears to be the limit at Archipelago’s TokaTindung project in Sulawesi.May/June 2012 | ASIA Miner | 43